From lockdown gardening to living décor, Ipshita Sharma speaks to Samantha Middleton of the Gorgeous Flower Co. about the latest trends in all things floral…
What do you think of this new trend of living decor?
I believe that the Coronavirus pandemic has made people reassess their living spaces. They want to make them look beautiful and be surrounded by more than just furniture. We have seen an increase in people ordering weekly bouquets for their homes. In response to this trend, we launched The Gorgeous Flower Club.
Do you believe in the language of flowers? What are your favourite flowers and what do they say?
Pink flowers are a sign of gratitude and admiration while purple symbolises love at first sight. Orange represents desire and white or yellow conveys a feeling of friendship. A mixed color bouquet is a safe bet if you aren’t completely sure of what you want to say.
However before sending flowers make sure you know the cultural connotation tied in with flowers as gifts. For example, in many European countries the chrysanthemum symbolises death and is only used for funerals while in other countries like Russia an even number of flowers in a bouquet is synonymous with death and bad luck!
Best blooms for fragrance and best blooms for their looks?
Stargazer lilies are great for one particular reason: they smell amazing. (For unscented, try Asiatic lilies.) Lilies have a great reputation for staying alive but anyone with cats should be careful, as lilies are super toxic to little kitties. Also, the yellow centre known as ‘stamen’ leaves bright yellow stains but these can be removed without causing any damage to the lily. While everyone loves roses and lilies, nowadays other variety of flowers such as proteas are becoming very popular as they are very different looking and quite designer-ish!
Is it better to buy flowers seasonally?
In-season flowers are always a better option as they are more cost-effective and last longer.
Spring: The most popular flowers for springtime include tulips, daffodils, peonies, sweet pea, narcissus, hyacinths, anemones, ranunculus and delphiniums
Summer: The most popular flowers in summertime include lilies, gerbera daisies, sunflowers, snapdragons, hydrangeas, larkspur, freesias, lavender, forget-me-nots, chrysanthemums and tuberoses.
Autumn: The most popular autumnal flowers include dahlias, marigolds, statice, chrysanthemums and aster.
Winter: The most popular winter flowers include poinsettias, ornithogalum star gazer lilies, jasmine, holly, cosmos and amaryllis.
Year-long: Flowers that can be found in-season all year round include orchids, gardenia, lily of the valley, carnations, baby’s breath, protea, heather, gladiolus, eucalyptus and calla lilies.
The Gorgeous Flower Co has bouquets starting from 120 AED upwards for a lovely hand-tied orchid bouquet and our hand tied bouquets come in 3 different sizes- Gorgeous, Extra Gorgeous and Wow so customers can choose according to their budget. Our arrangements start at 350 and go up to 1000. We also have some phalaenopsis double stemmed plants that start at 160 AED.
The Gorgeous Flower Club: Customers can sign up online to receive weekly, bi-weekly or monthly flowers straight to their villa or office. The benefit of this club is that as the flowers are pre-ordered this gives savings of up to 20%.
The Good
There is always something special about making your living space come alive with flowers.
The Bad
Most flower delivery options in Dubai are prohibitive because of the pricing.
The Trendy
Lockdowns have seen an increase in interest towards living decor like cut flowers, plants and succulents.